Signaling mailbox



y 9 G. ALFlSl 2,471,919

SIGNALING MAILBOX Filed Feb. 17, 1948 llIlIllllP 47 INVENTOR.

Giu se /pe Jig i 5i Patented May 31, 1949 UNl'llEil)= STAT-ES PATENT QF FIGE SIGNALING Giuseppe Alfisl, Springfield, Mass. Application. February 17, 1-94i8, SeriaL'Nm 8 ,830

4 Claims.

Thapresentinvention relates tomail boxes andv morespecifically to a, signalling mail box in which. a; cinzuit closing device is actuated when mail. is

dermal-ted; to. energize; a. signal located inside the house.

Afiirthen objective, waste provide a mail box equ ped in: such. a. manner that a. signal. would light. in the: house when. mail was deposited and which-would go outv uponthe removal of the mail iromtheibox.

Another feature; at mioinvention is; the provi sion of a pivotal mail receptacle within the box. that: ac'tuates. the signalling: circuit...

Asfiurther: ieatureaof; mydeviceis: that maybe readily incorporated. in. existing mail; boxes, with. a minimum of efirt..

The present invention contemplates the provision of a mail box equipped with a movable mailreceiving receptacle on. the inside. When the mail is deposited through. the upper slit in the box, the receptacle will be moved causing a signalling circuit to be energized. At the same time the receptacle will be latched in a mail-receiving positionso that the circuit will, remain energized until the mail is removed from the box.. Atthe time-the mail is removed from the box, latch;releasing means are actuated causingthe receptacle to; resume its normal position. and at the same time-causethe signalling circuitto be deenergized.

Further. unique featuresand, advantages of my invention will be apparent as I proceed with the description.

W ithreference to the drawings- I Fig. 1 shows a front elevationoimy mailbox;

Fig. 2 shows a sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged perspective view of the latching means and latch releasing means; and

Fig. 4 shows a schematic view of the wiring diagram of the signalling device.

In Fig. 1 I show a mail box l0 which, if desired, may be mounted in a suitable frame H. The box is rectangular in shape having front and rear walls l2 and I3 and upper and lower doors l4 and i5 located in the front wall. The upper door l4 acts as a closure for the slit it through which the mail is deposited, and it is hinged in such a manner that it moves inwardly and upwardly. The

lower door l5 through which the mail is removed moves outwardly and downwardly when opened and is further equipped with a conventional lock l1. Mounted within the box for pivotal movement is a receptacle that consists of a single piece of material having a rear wall 2| and a iroughelike lower: portion. 22 integral, with the". rear wall. The upperportion.zalofthe'receptacler is bent forward. and downwardin such .a .mannen that when in;itsherrnal1 positionl the upper; porttion 23.,contacts;the rear of thee-upper: door: I4: The receptacle 2!). is pivoted. at .approximatelmits-z mid: point; 24. to the sides. of the=box-..and2 is: alsm equipped, with; a leaf! spring 25sthatmaintainsdt. in the-position showmbwthe sol-idllinesz in;Fig., 2.. One. dzof the;- spring; 25 bears on..the=.box while: its-other. endds-secureditathe receptacle;

Projecting inwardly; fromstheetront' wall a l2sofr-l the. box. is. a. latch. 30 'whichi consists; oil. a; short;

piece. of resilientswiigesbent intermediate its-.endsi to; f orm. a. U .-shap ed.p0rtion.3-l= 'L'he-- latching deevice 30 is mounted adjacent one ofithe-siderwallsi. otthe-mail zbox.and.is.adapted to coast .wi-tha projection; 2& on;the :lowen portion oi.-.the-.-receptacle;

when the-.receptacleaismoyed itdamailsreceiving position asiindieatedmyvthe dottedgl-ineszin Fig. 23..

The projection-2d may, ba formedby rol-ling a pention. of. the lower edgesofitheereceptaclee as shownr inlFig, 3.- Alsoashown-iin Fig, 3.45 &i.-13113C1'3l release ing device-:whieh-1c0nsists: of. a rod: 35. equipped. with; an. oiiset 36a, Theerod -.3.5 is.-secured.ttosthe-i lower door l-iethrough-a strap-31"-andimovement-s of the lower door to an open position causes.the offset 36 to contact the latch 30, thereby-releasing the proj (action-26.011 the receptacle. which will allow the receptacle to.- be..pnlledbackdntotitss original positionthroughthespring 2.5.

My. mailbox; 15.282150, equipped .with. a.-.circuit.-- closing. devicecthat. operates :the signalling: circuit... This device consists. of a l micro-switch 40 ,that; may. be mountedionttherearwalld 3.0i the boxas. shown in Fig. 2 and which is equipped with a flexible contact arm 4|. The contact arm rests against the back wall 2| of the receptacle and when the receptacle is in its normal position as shown by the solid lines in Fig. 2, the switch contacts are open. However, as the upper door I4 is opened for the purpose of depositing mail, the door will push the upper portion 23 of the receptacle 20 causing it to pivot and to press against the contact arm 4| which in turn causes the contacts in the switch 40 to close. The switch is connected in series arrangement with a source of electricity and a signalling light or buzzer 42 which may be mounted inside the house in any selected spot. So long as the receptacle remains in this position, the signalling light 42 will remain lit indicating that ma'l has been deposited in the mail box. A further signalling unit is provided in that a button 43 positioned in the lower portion of the mail box is connected in series a1- tricity 47.

3 'rangement with a source of electricity and a bell 44. Through this arrangement the mailman may also press the button to ring the bell indicating that mail has been deposited, however, this circuit does not remain energized once the pressure has been removed from the button.

In operation, before any mail is deposited in the box the position of the pivotal receptacle 20 is indicated by the solidlines in Fig. 2. When the mailman deposits mail by raising the upper door I 4, the pressure of the upper door against the upper portion 23 of the receptacle 20 causes the receptacle to pivot which results in the contacts of the micro-switch 40 being closed and at the same time results in the projection 26 being engaged by the latch 30 to hold the receptacle in this mail-receiving position. This causes the signalling light 42 to light and this circuit will remain energized as long as the mail remains in the box. When the mail is removed through the lower door I5, as the lower door pivots downwardly,

the offset 36 Will contact the latch 30 raising it a suflicient distance to allow it to release the projection 26. As soon as the projection has been released the spring 25 will pull the receptacle back into its normal position. As the receptacle 20 pivots back to its normal position the switch contacts will be open causing the light 42 to go out and the box will be ready for another operation. In Fig. 4 I show a schematic wiring diagram of the circuit of the signalling device which consists of a micro-switch 40 connected through leads 45 and 46 to a light 42 and a source of elec- Also, the button 43 is connected through leads 48 and 49 to a source of electricity 4'! and a bell 44.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to a present preferred form which it may assume, it is not to be limited to such details and form since many changes and modifications may be made in the'invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest aspects. Hence, it is desired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the invention which may come within the language or scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a mail box an inwardly opening upper hinged door, an outwardly opening lower hinged door, a receptacle to receive mail mounted for movement within the box, yieldable means which return the receptacle into its non-receiving position, a latch within the box, latch releasing means on the lower door, and circuit closing means on 4 the box in operative relation to said receptacle, the provision and arrangement being such that opening movement of the upper door causes movement of the receptacle into engagement with the latch to be held in a mail-receiving position thereby actuating said circuit closing means, and

opening movement of the lower door causes the latch releasing means to disengage the receptacle for movement into its non-receiving position by said yieldable means thereby enabling said circuit closing means to open.

2. In a mail box set forth in claim 1 wherein said receptacle is equipped with a trough-like lower portion to receive the mail.

3. In a mail box an inwardly opening upper hinged door, an outwardly opening lower hinged door, a pivotally mounted receptacle within the box, yieldable means which return the receptacle into its non-receiving position, and circuit closing means on the box in operative relation to said receptacle, a latch within the box, latch releasing means on the lower door, the provision and arrangement being such that opening movement of the upper door causes pivotal movement of the receptacle into engagement with the latch to be held in a mail-receiving position thereby actuating said circuit closing means and opening movement of the lower door causes the latch releasing means to disengage the receptacle for movement into its non-receiving position by said yieldable means thereby enabling said circuit closing means to open.

4. In a mail box set forth in claim 3 wherein said yieldable means comprises a leaf spring hav-'- ing one end bearing on the mail box and its other end connected to the receptacle.

GIUSEPPE ALFISI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 329,245 Weaver Oct. 27. 1885 469,181. Pinkham Feb. 16, 1892 476,139 Faw May 31, 1892 1,228,198 Ewing May 29, 1917 1,336,652 Otto Apr. 13, 1920 2,438,785 McKallick Mar. 30, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 19,200 Germany Feb. 5, 1882 

